A Director's Actor

An Interview with Tadanobu Asano

"Tadanobu Asano is probably the best actor in the world today" declares famed cinematographer Christopher Doyle. Coming from Doyle, who has worked with some of the finest performers in cinema today, from Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung (in the films of Wong Kar Wai), to Gong Li and Michael Caine (in EROS and THE QUIET AMERICAN), a statment such as this is not one to be taken lightly.

With no formal training as an actor, Asano's acting career began when his father, an actor's agent, encouraged him to audition for a part in a television a drama. This became his first acting role, though, he stresses, it was not necessarily this path that he had in mind "I wanted to do something where I would work for and with people, in open spaces, in the media. It didn't have to be as an actor."

Asano's eminent rise on the international film circuit has not been merely chance. He chooses his collaborators carefully, "The director is the most important part of the film", he remarks, "I put more faith in them than on the script". His recent filmogrography re-affirms that, having worked with such leading lights in contemporary cinema as Takashi Miike (ICHI THE KILLER), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (BRIGHT FUTURE), Takeshi Kitano (ZATOICHI), Shinya Tsukamoto (VITAL), Hirokazu Koreeda (DISTANCE) inside Japan, and Hou Hsiao-Hsien (CAFé LUMièRE) and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE) outside of Japan. Making films outside of Japan has not been difficult for Asano, and the language barrier has not proven to be a problem on the set "Pen-Ek was very careful to explain things very clear, in very slow, understandble English".

A passionate musician since his High School days, Asano performs with his band Peace Pill when not working on films. "His background as a musician" Doyle point out, "informs the natural rhythm in his acting."

Inspired to see what the work may come out like should he pick up the camera himself, he recently directed TORI, a film set in five sequences, distinct in style and theme, that were borne out of his dreams. "It was a great experience", Asano announces, "I really enjoyed working with friends", seeing them on screen, and using their music in his work.

Asano's next project is another collaboration with the LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE team. He will be flying to Thailand to shoot INVISIBLE WAVES, re-uniting the team of director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, cinematographer Christopher Doyle, and scriptwriter Prabda Yoon.

Alexis Tioseco

© Berlinale Talent Campus 2005